Broken toys among the ashes: Children in the shadow of war

Palestinian children pose for a picture on the debris of a building, Gaza City, Palestine, March 6, 2025. (AFP Photo)

Even when the sound of the bombs stops, the screams of children continue to echo for generations in the debris left behind. The children who survive these conflicts are silent witnesses who are ignored, especially by so-called civilized societies, but carry the deepest scars.

War, one of the most brutal scenes in human history, leaves irreversible damage not only on the conflicting parties on the front lines but also on the minds of innocent children who have to grow up in that geography. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, far beyond the political and ideological conflicts that have been going on for years, inflicts irreversible wounds on children's mental health; the cold reality of war disrupts children's most basic emotional and cognitive development processes. A generation growing up in the deadly shadow of bombs struggles for life not only with physical destruction but also with the invisible wounds they carry in their souls.

War threatens not only the physical safety of children but also their emotional attachment. The loss of a mother, father or loved one creates a deep mourning in young victims. Children do not have the same developed coping mechanisms as adults in understanding and coping with their lost loved ones. For this reason, losses trigger a deep sense of grief and hopelessness. Traumatic losses in particular reinforce the belief in children that their perception of the world is an unsafe and dangerous place.

Invisible anatomy of trauma

Since children are still forming their emotional and cognitive structures at a developmental level, they are more sensitive to extremely traumatic events such as war. Childhood is a critical phase in which an individual's basic sense of trust is built and they gain the ability to make sense of the world and regulate their emotions. However, for a child growing up amid war, these developmental areas are often deeply damaged.

They are at risk of developing serious psychological disorders such as developmental trauma disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression, especially due to the intense stress they are exposed to at an early age. The violence, loss and deprivation witnessed every day in the Palestinian territories shakes children's sense of security to its core; it undermines and even breaks down psychological resilience, leaving an emotional wreckage that will not be erased even in later periods of their lives. Studies show that living under constant threat develops hypervigilance (excessive alertness) behavior in children, and symptoms such as sleep disorders, nightmares and introversion become chronic.

For these children, war is not only a physical conflict; it also means an emotional rupture and a deep hole in identity construction. A child who constantly witnesses death and destruction begins to perceive the world as an untrustworthy and dangerous place; especially children who experience the loss of a parent or witness their parents' helplessness experience serious ruptures in basic attachment dynamics. From the perspective of developmental psychology, it is known that such post-traumatic experiences experienced in the early period fundamentally shake both the child's sense of self and the sense of trust he/she has in others, seriously weakening his/her ability to form healthy relationships in later life.

Transmitted traumatic cycle

War leaves indelible marks on children's bodies and minds. Children who are constantly exposed to bombing, destruction and violence develop somatic symptoms such as nightmares, palpitations, sudden startles and sleep disorders. In addition, symptoms such as social withdrawal, mental distractions and a decrease in academic success are also common. Some children exposed to advanced levels of trauma may develop dissociative symptoms and lose their perception of reality.

The impact of war on children should deeply concern not only individual psychology but also the social structure. Psychological traumas are transmitted to the next generation through an intergenerational transmission mechanism. Children growing up in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict internalize the traumas they are exposed to and carry feelings of anger, helplessness and insecurity into the future; thus, the capacity for empathy and compromise necessary for the construction of peace gradually weakens. While it becomes difficult for a child growing up in an environment of constant war to have hope for the future, the curiosity, play and discovery urges specific to childhood are replaced by self-preservation and the struggle to survive.

To understand the psychological devastation experienced by Palestinian children, it is not enough to make medical diagnoses alone; of course, the trauma of war must be evaluated within the social context of the individual. For these children, who are deprived of their right to education, whose playgrounds are bombed, and who cannot access basic health services, this genocide also produces a systematic deprivation that prevents them from accessing vital resources. In addition to post-traumatic stress disorder, these children have to cope with feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness regarding the future. Traumas experienced, especially during childhood, can negatively affect neurological development, leading to weakened cognitive functions, emotional regulation problems and regression in social skills.

Social responsibility, support

International legal norms and the Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantee the protection of children as a basic human right. However, for children in Palestine, these provisions are condemned to remain on paper. While the world is content to watch this pain that cannot be contained in numbers, the voices of children lost in the darkness of war remain as an echo.

Psychosocial support programs for children who bear the deep scars of war are the most fundamental step in emotional healing. Play therapy, cognitive behavioral therapies and group support programs are vital in making sense of trauma and developing coping mechanisms.

In addition, the international community needs to be sensitive about this issue and focus on protecting children's fundamental right to life. To reduce the permanent effects of wars on children, humanitarian aid should be increased and policies aimed at building peace should be developed.

Ideology of hegemony

At the root of genocide is often an ideology of power. A state or community may see the destruction of the "other" as a necessity to legitimize its own existence. This situation can be explained by Michel Foucault's concept of "bio-power": Modern forms of power not only manage people's lives but also decide which lives are valuable and which are worthless. In this context, genocide is an attempt by power to eliminate the other to ensure its own continuity and to build a "national identity."

When the events in Palestine are evaluated in this context, it is seen that they are related to the Israeli state's practice of strengthening its own national identity and constructing the Palestinian people as a "threat." As Edward Said emphasized in the concept of "Orientalism," the Western world desires to make its own civilization superior by seeing the East as an irrational, primitive and dangerous structure. This perspective turns into a policy of violence that dehumanizes the Palestinian people and ignores their right to life.